It’s strange to imagine that right now, in a typical year, the Mono Lake Committee office would be abuzz with activity in preparation for the arrival of hundreds of Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua attendees—assembling participant packets, finalizing schedules, and making the last Chautauqua buttons.

Although we won’t be able to gather in person this year, we have a few videos for you to enjoy from home. First, a short message from the Chautauqua organizers:

On Saturday, June 20, we will also be premiering two videos on Facebook and YouTube. Both videos will also be available to watch after they premiere. (more…)

Although the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore is currently closed and most of our typical summer programs are cancelled, Mono Lake Committee staff are still hard at work from home. One of the major projects we are undertaking during this time is creating a completely redesigned website, and we need your help!

We are currently working on a major update and revision to monolake.org and we need your help.

In July, we will be working on creating the information architecture for the website—focusing on organizing, structuring, and labeling website content in a simple and clear way. This will help us create the foundation for the redesigned site, with the goal of helping visitors easily find information and successfully complete tasks on the website.

There are two online exercises we need your help with—card sorting and tree testing. The card sorting exercise will ask you to organize topics into groups that make sense to you to inform the site map. The tree testing exercise will ask you to try to accomplish a series of tasks using a draft site map we create.

If you’re interested in completing these exercises, you can sign up here or simply send me an email saying you would like to help. After signing up, expect to receive a couple emails in July inviting you to complete each exercise. Thank you for your help!

#GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020. Lately we’ve been announcing a lot of cancellations, from the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua to the summer canoe program; however, giving back is not cancelled, and Mono Lake needs you now more than ever.

We’re still doing all we can to keep restoration and protection programs moving forward, and DWP on track with their obligations. Staff are even launching new web-based opportunities for you to experience Mono Lake, sharing the arriving birds, springtime flowers, and scenic views on naturalist walks near the lake.

You can still support protection, restoration, education, and science at Mono Lake with your gift of any amount. Thank you!

In response to the developing COVID-19 crisis, the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua planning team has decided to postpone the opening of registration for the nineteenth annual Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua to May 15th at 6:30am PDT. We are also tentatively planning to release the full 2020 program schedule and grid schedule on May 1—two weeks before registration opens.

Bird Chautauqua registration will begin at 6:30am PDT on May 15, 2020.Photo by Sandra Noll.

Depending on how the news unfolds and state and federal guidelines change in the weeks ahead, it is possible that we may have to cancel this year’s festival, and if that’s the case, we will make that announcement before registration begins. We care deeply about our staff, presenters, participants, and our community, so we will be basing our decisions about the festival on safety first. Stay well and happy birding.

Join the Mono Lake Committee digitally as we share arriving birds, springtime flowers, and scenic views of the Mono Basin with you from wherever you may be. Over the next few weeks, you can bring Mono Lake into your living room and enjoy some moments of peace and tranquility from the Mono Basin during these uncertain times.

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Tickets for the Mono Lake Committee’s ninth annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Los Angeles are now on sale!

We hope you’ll be able to join us in March in either Sierra Madre, Santa Monica, or at our newest venue in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets are $20 for general admission ($25 at the door) and half-price for students. You can save 20% on tickets through February using promo code WILD20. You can also purchase a benefactor ticket, which allows you to sponsor one student’s five-day visit to the Mono Basin Outdoor Education Center (along with (more…)

In 2019, Mono Lake an entire vertical foot. Watch below for a quick time lapse video showing the this past summer’s lake rise and see the shoreline change by the day.

It has been an exciting year for Mono Lake and its tributary streams with the lake rising a foot and the best possible streamflows secured on Rush, Lee Vining, Parker, and Walker creeks.

We hope you’ll consider sending a year-end gift today to help the Committee prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead in 2020. The protection and restoration of Mono Lake is ongoing; we’re grateful that your support is, too. Thank you.

The Mono Lake Committee is excited to announce our ninth annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Los Angeles! We will be featuring a series of short, inspiring, and engaging films that showcase amazing people, beautiful places, and unique perspectives.

This year, for the first time, we’ll be hosting the festival on three consecutive nights in the Los Angeles area:

Sierra Madre at the Sierra Madre Playhouse
March 11, 2020
7:00–9:30pm

Santa Monica at the Laemmle Monica Film Center
March 12, 2020
7:00–9:30pm

Downtown Los Angeles at the Downtown Independent
March 13, 2020
7:00–9:30pm

Tickets will be available starting January 8 here. All proceeds benefit the Mono Basin Outdoor Education Center, where urban youth connect to the source of their water through outdoor activities and environmental stewardship. Spread the word and we’ll see you in March!

“Black Friday is often a day when we go out and buy things we don’t really need and give them to people who don’t really want them,” writes Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario. This Black Friday, instead of going to the mall, Patagonia is challenging us to donate to environmental organizations, including the Mono Lake Committee, in the name of friends and loved ones.

Patagonia has committed to match all donations given on Action Works, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000 per donation and $10 million total from November 29 to December 31. (more…)

2019 was an exciting year at Mono Lake—the lake rose more than an entire vertical foot to 6,382.5 feet above sea level!

To celebrate, an anonymous donor has pledged a one-to-one match for all donations given from now through Giving Tuesday (December 3), up to $6,392—the management level for Mono Lake—which means you can double your impact for Mono Lake.

We’ve also put together a time lapse video so you can see this summer’s lake rise before your eyes. After watching, be sure to share the video with (more…)